


Kitten Adventures

by redledgers



Category: Marvel Avengers Movies Universe
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kitten!Tasha, because reasons, someone's become a kitten
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-16
Updated: 2012-12-23
Packaged: 2017-11-14 09:36:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 9,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redledgers/pseuds/redledgers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha is a kitten that Clint rescued one night. She's cute, cuddly, and enjoys raising hell. Short one-shots featuring everyone on the team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 The sound of mewling caused Clint to take a step down an alleyway he normally wouldn't. He was on his way home from a bar he regularly attended and to say the least, it wasn't in such a great area. But he wouldn't be there unless he could handle it. Which, because of his military training, he could.

The source of the noise was a tiny little ball of fur that was dirty and tired looking. He thought the fur was orange, but he couldn't be sure. The little creature was curled up against the building, mewing pitifully. Clint bent down. "Who left you here by yourself?" he said softly, reaching out to stroke what he now identified as a kitten.

The kitten hissed at him and cowered against the cold bricks.

"I don't want to hurt you," he continued. The poor little thing probably hadn't eaten in days. "It's a wonder you're still alive. I just want to help, that's all." His voice was (he hoped) soothing. This wasn't his first time speaking with animals. He took off his sweatshirt and cautiously wrapped the kitten inside of it, picking the bundle off the ground gently as he did. "Now I don't know if you like baths but we're going to have to get you cleaned up somehow. And I've got some food in the fridge you might like."

Despite its obvious dismay at being held, the kitten stayed quiet and still. Clint walked the few blocks to his apartment and when he was inside, he set the bundle next to the sink and filled the sink with warm water. "Food first or bath first?" he asked it. "Also you need a name."

The kitten went (unwillingly) into the soapy water and Clint cleans it gently. He determines that the cat is a girl. When she's dry, her fur is orange and she blinks at him with wide green eyes. Clint puts a plate of yesterday's chicken in front of her. She still won't let him pet her so he leans against the counter. "What do you want to be called?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well I can't just call you Cat now, can I?" He paused. "How about Nat? As a nickname, yes..." and after a moment's musings, he declared, "Natasha! Your name is Natasha, okay?"

Natasha went back to gulping down the food. She lapped at the water he had put next to her then yawned and curled up next to the plate. Clint took that opportunity to find a box and put a towel in it. "I'll have to get a litter box and train you on it but this should do for now," he said as he moved the sleeping kitten to the box.

She didn't go near him for a month, always waited until he put her food down and walked away before eating, walking out of rooms he walked into, and hiding from him when he tried to pick her up. Clint kept at it, determined to bring Natasha out of her shell and warm up to him.

And then one night, he got home from work and collapsed in bed. A small weight on his chest woke him in the middle of the night and he saw it was Natasha curling up over his heart. He ran his fingers through her fur experimentally, and when she didn't move, said, "So now you like me."

She purred in response.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 Clint went to rub Natasha's tummy when she grabbed his hand and started chewing on his finger. It didn't hurt, she was only playing, so he pulled away just a bit. She curled forward and rubbed against his fingers again.

It became a game of teasing, she getting her mouth around his finger before he tugged it away. He never went too far, staying an inch away from her mouth. She mewed, batting at his hands as he resumed rubbing her stomach.

“You like that, don't you,” he laughed as she grabbed him with tiny paws and squirmed. When he pulled his hand away, she flipped over and pounced at it, trying to gnaw on his fingers while rolling. She kept her tiny claws sheathed, thankfully, then suddenly dropped his hand and climbed onto his leg. Clint let her curl in his hands and she fell asleep purring.


	3. Chapter 3

 Clint had invited Steve over for a drink one night, hoping he might help the man get used to the 21st century. He also had a bag of peanuts he'd picked up and was hoping to have help finishing it off. Natasha followed him around the apartment curiously as he neatened up. When Steve arrived, she was content to curl up in her corner of the couch and watch him.

"I didn't know you had a pet," Steve said, sitting beside her. "What's it's name?"

"Her name's Natasha." Clint set the beer and two bowls on the coffee table, one for the peanuts and one for the shells.

Steve reached a hand out to her and she sniffed it before climbing onto his lap and using him as a springboard to the table. "She's tiny. How old is she?" he asked as she wandered around the bowls, her little pink tongue flicking out to taste the food.

"I have no idea," Clint replied. He cracked open one and set it in front of her.

Natasha licked at the salt, chewing slightly on the hull before leaping into the space between the men and curling up.

"Well she's awfully cute."  Steve rubbed her head with a finger and she purred, licking the salt off of it.

"She might try and go home with you," Clint warned. "She's awfully clever and very good at getting people to like her." He offered Natasha a peanut and she gnawed at it contentedly.

"Well it looks like you struck gold in the kitten department." Steve took a sip of beer.

"She's the only woman I need right now too," Clint replied with a smile.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 Sometimes he baked. It was more of a de-stressing agent, and it was something he needed after his hectic week. Today he was making cookies. Natasha came beside him while he was stirring the batter, hopping up onto the counter somehow and peeking over the bowl.

“No, Tasha, get away. You can't have these.” He fended her off with his arm.

She went instead for the bag of flour and nosed at it.

“Natasha, those things aren't good for you.” Clint put down the bowl and picked her up, setting her on the floor. “I'll get you some food in a minute if you want but you can't have these.”

She sat there silently, tail curled around her, and watched him. When he put balls of dough on the tray, she launched herself back onto the counter and came to taste one of them.

“Natasha, I'll give you a treat if you listen to me.” Clint used the spoon to nudge her away and she licked the dough off her fur. He went to put the bowl in the sink and she hopped onto the tray, walking on the squishy, uncooked food.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Natasha, why the hell did you do that?” It was the first time he'd actually raised his voice at her. She hissed at him and leapt onto the floor, leaving a trail of cookie dough behind her. She calmly licked it off her paws and swatted at him when he went to pick her up. “You can't just eat everything. There's cat food and there's human food, and this is human food.”

In a blink, she was gone from the kitchen and Clint sighed heavily. He scraped the sticky dough into the trash and washed the dishes. Apparently today wouldn't be a stress free day. Instead he threw a frozen pizza into the oven and nursed a beer. Natasha wasn't coming out from wherever she was hiding. He didn't know if he was fine with that or not.

After dinner, he took a treat from the bag and set off in search of the tiny kitten. There were so many places she could hide in his sparse apartment, but he found her huddled in the tub, fur a little damp from where the faucet was dripping. He crouched over the rim and held out the treat on one finger.

Natasha climbed up his arm and settled onto his legs, causing him to sit on the bathroom floor as she curled up in his lap.

“I'm sorry, Tasha,” he said, feeding her the treat. “I didn't mean to yell at you. I just don't want you to get sick from eating the food I eat. You're not meant to.” He stroked her fur back.

She mewed quietly and snuggled against his stomach.

“Maybe next time I'll let you help me, okay?”


	5. Chapter 5

 One thing Clint liked to do in his spare time was take photographs. It was a hobby he kept close to his chest. He packed his camera and a bag of chips into his backpack, said goodbye to Natasha, and left the apartment. It was a nice day so walking the four blocks to the park didn't bother him. When he reached the grassy area, he set his backpack down and opened it.

A blur of orange shot out of the bag and he saw Natasha stop and bat at the grass that was almost as tall as she was. He pulled his camera out but every time she saw him raise it, she darted out of the frame. “Don't get too far, Tasha,” he said. “I don't want to lose you.”

She always stayed just out of reach so Clint decided to opt for a different method. He set down the camera and opened the chips. Natasha stood at attention when she heard the bag rustle. Clint set a chip beside his leg and left it alone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her move just a little closer, but when he turned his head, she stopped moving, looking disinterested. So he broke the chip into smaller pieces and went back to enjoying his own snack.

Eventually he heard a quiet crunching beside him and he looked down to see her eating the bits of chip. When she was finished, she looked up at him, eyes wide, and he snapped a photograph of it before she could run away. And then he picked her up and settled her in his lap. “How'd you get into my bag?” he asked her.

She looked at him.

“You're a clever one, aren't you,” he said, rubbing her chin. Natasha purred. “Well you don't have to sneak out with me. You could just let me know you want to come along. I don't want to lose you.”

She soon fell asleep and he laughed, rolling the top of the chip bag and putting everything in the backpack. He set Natasha in his jacket pocket and slung the backpack on one shoulder. “I wish you'd stay a kitten forever,” he mused aloud as he walked back to his building. He thought he could hear a meow coming from his pocket. Sticking a hand in his pocket, he touched her head gently. “I love you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

 Clint filled up the litter box and brushed his hands on his jeans. There was enough water to last a few days and as long as Natasha didn't eat all her food in one day, she would be fine. He slung his bag over his shoulder and opened the door. A little noise made him turn back and he saw Natasha padding out of his guest bedroom.

He dropped his bag and crouched as she scampered over to him. “I'll be back in a few days okay? Maybe shorter. Don't eat all your food at once now.” He ran his fingers through her fur and then stood. She rubbed against him before walking away, turning back to watch him leave the apartment. She'd be fine.

Clint was back two days later and the first thing he did was clean out the litter box. Natasha was nowhere to be seen. All the food was gone, so he washed out the bowl before going to look for her. He peeked under the bed and his hands were met with sharp teeth. He pulled it out and Natasha leapt after it, latching on again. “Damnit, Tasha.” He grabbed onto the scruff of her neck with his free hand and she instantly went limp, hissing at him. Clint dropped her on the floor and went to the bathroom to clean his now bleeding hand.

Wrapping it in a bandage, he went back out into the room only to have Natasha hissing and jumping at his legs, claws out. “Is this for leaving you alone? I'm sorry, I really am. I just have to leave a lot for my job.” He made it to the kitchen without stepping on her and pulled out the bag of treats. “Recompense?” he said quietly, offering a treat. Natasha snapped at it, pricking his finger with one of her teeth in the process, then darted off.

He shrugged and filled her little bowl with food, then went to unpack. She came into his room when he was finished and climbed up onto the bed, meowing at him. When he ignored her, she climbed up his sleeve and perched on his shoulder, brushing against his cheek.

“Are you going to scratch me now?” he asked, toeing off his boots.

She meowed and dug her claws into his shoulder when he moved to lay back on the bed. Then she climbed onto his chest and curled up under his chin.

“Oh so you're sorry now?” He brushed a finger down her spine and she purred. “Natasha, I promise I won't leave you alone again okay? I'll make sure someone comes to see you every day so you won't be alone. Does that sound good?”

She mewed and snuggled closer.

As long as she didn't tear apart whoever he got to cat sit her (since no one at SHIELD knew he had a cat now), he figured everything would be fine.


	7. Chapter 7

 The next time Clint had to leave for a mission, it was for two weeks in some godforsaken country where he didn't know the language. At least he figured he wouldn't know it. He packed food and toys into a bag for Natasha, then loaded that and the litter box into the back of his car. He scooped the tiny kitten up. “I'm going away again,” he said, “but this time you won't be alone.”

She hopped onto his shoulder and he felt her drop into the hood of his sweatshirt, shifting about until she settled down. He smiled. “You can't stay there when I'm driving.” So when he climbed into his car, he set her down on the seat, swaddled in the cloth. She mewed impatiently. “You'll get your spot back in a few minutes,” he replied.

When he got to SHIELD, he put on the sweatshirt and let her climb into the hood. He made his way to Coulson's office. “I have a favor to ask you,” he said, opening the door.

Coulson looked up. “What is it?”

“Well, I have a cat now and she needs to be looked after while I'm away. I have all the stuff in the car.” Clint shrugged. “Please?”

“Agent Barton, I'm not really...” He stopped talking when he saw little ears poke up from behind Clint's shoulder. A furry scrap of a kitten climbed up onto his shoulder. “You brought her with you?”

Clint set her on his desk. She looked at Coulson, then leaped into his lap, purring as she rubbed herself against him. Coulson looked at Clint. “I hope you have a lint brush with you,” he said dryly.

“It's just until I'm back from the mission and I promise I'll never ask you again. It's just that I don't have a lot of time and....”

“I'll take her, but just this once. Find another agent next time.”

Clint shook his hand. “Thank you, honestly.” He reached a hand out and Natasha glared at him, preferring to stay in Coulson's lap. “Okay, um, I'll go get the stuff from the car. Her name is Natasha.” And then he was gone.

Coulson looked at the creature in his lap who seemed to like him more than Clint. “I wonder where he got you,” he said, petting her head with a finger. He didn't like cats.

 

And then Clint was at his apartment two weeks later helping him clean up and pack all of Natasha's things back up. She was reluctant to go, lingering near Coulson. “How was she?” Clint asked.

“Well she really likes me. And I guess I wouldn't mind watching her again if you needed it. But don't make it a regular occurrence.” He picked Natasha up and handed her to Clint. She squirmed, but once she was in the safety of his hood, she settled down. “How did you get her anyway?”

“I found her in an alley and took her home. Couldn't bear to leave her there or give her up later. And sometimes she likes me, when she's not trying to hurt me.” Clint shouldered the bag and hoisted the litter box under his arm. “But we make a good pair so it's nice.”

Clint showed himself out and Coulson smiled when he saw the little kitten asleep in his hood. They did make a good team, her all claws and teeth, him kind and gentle (when he wasn't killing someone). And he knew, however much the cat hurt him, she definitely loved him for saving her.


	8. Chapter 8

 A soft meowing woke Clint and he turned to see Natasha blinking back at him. She took another step toward him and touched her nose to his cheek before meowing again. He turned and scooped the tiny kitten up, cradling her against him. “What's up?” he asked quietly.

She rubbed against him and then squirmed down, hopping onto the bed and down the little steps he had built for her. She mewed indignantly when he didn't move, and he went to follow her. “Do you want a treat?” he said when they entered the kitchen. That got her attention, and whatever she was trying to do vanished.

Clint smiled and took two little treats out of the bag. He knelt in front of her and offered the first one. She batted it from between his fingers and licked it off the floor. Then she eyed the second one, purring. When he didn't give it to her immediately, she climbed up the back of his shirt and dug her tiny claws into the back of his neck. “Ouch, Tasha!” Clint stood and she dropped onto the counter.

Natasha pounced on the dropped treat before he could scramble for it, watching him while she chewed. Then she turned and flicked her tail, going to curl up in the corner of the couch she had claimed as her own.

The corner of the couch that used to be Clint's.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Taking in a kitten should have been easy. Taking her in was a different story. But he couldn't help but love the little creature even if she didn't seem to like him all that well. With time, maybe she would.


	9. Chapter 9

 The first person to visit Clint in the med wing was Coulson. The mission had been a bust and he had ended up with two fractured ribs and a broken wrist.

"I know I'm not supposed to do things like this, but..." Coulson opened his bag and Clint found his face covered with orange fur. He reached his good arm up and moved the bundle of fuzz down so he could see better.

Natasha licked his nose and then his chin, digging her claws into the hospital gown, refusing to move. "Hey, you can stay, I just don't want to suffocate." He rubbed the spot by her left ear that she loved. He looked at Coulson. "Thank you for.bringing her in," he said.

Coulson smiled. "Just heal quickly. We need you in the field." He left Clint alone in the room with the kitten.

"Jeeze, I feel like shit." He winced as she walked over his ribs. "Ow don't...don't walk there, please."

She heard the pain in his voice and mewed, licking at the cloth before crawling over and batting at his ear.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" She was the only color in the room.

Natasha purred and nipped at him playfully.

"I really appreciate that." Clint maneuvered himself into a comfortable sitting position and teased her. She grabbed at his fingers and jumped up when they were out of reach, bringing a grin from Clint.

"I'll be able to play better in a week, okay?" he said when they were both tired.

She meowed and curled up on the pillow beside him.

 


	10. Chapter 10

 They'd been at Stark Tower for two weeks now, and Clint thought Natasha wouldn't ever get done exploring the place. She was sitting on the table eating her breakfast with him when Tony walked in and poured a bowl of cereal. “You have a cat?” he asked.

Clint shrugged. Natasha looked up from her plate and hissed when Tony tried to pet her. She was a little bigger now than she was when Clint first found her, but he still didn't know how old she was. He figured she was probably a year old by now.

Tony rolled his eyes at the kitten and sat down at the table. Natasha padded over to his bowl and flicked her tongue out, tasting the milk, before beginning to lap at it. Tony yanked the bowl away, bumping her chin. “What the fuck?” he said loudly.

Natasha's ears went back and she hissed at him, pouncing for his arm. Clint caught her before she could do any damage and cradled her against his chest. “That's not how we treat people even if they're mean,” he said gently, rubbing his fingers up and down her back. She cowered into him, watching Tony with wide eyes that looked hurt.

“Keep your cat under control,” Tony said, moving to stand and eat a freshly poured bowl at the counter.

“Don't hurt her again.” Clint picked up a piece of her food and offered it to her. She licked it off his finger. “Do whatever you want,” he whispered to her. “Just don't get yourself hurt.” She mewed and climbed up onto his shoulder, allowing him to feed her with his fingers before hopping down and curling up on his lap.

Tony scoffed and left the kitchen.


	11. Chapter 11

Natasha always ran to the door when he came home, but this time, she stopped in the middle of the living room and meowed at the stranger Clint had brought home with him.

“You didn't tell me you had a cat,” she said, bending down and reaching a hand out to Natasha.

Natasha hissed and scampered under the couch.

The strange woman shrugged, and they sat down. When they started talking, Natasha creeped out from her hiding spot and rubbed against Clint's leg, mewing insistently. She scraped her claws lightly against Clint's pants and hopped up onto his lap.

Clint picked her up and set her gently on the ground. “Go see Steve,” he said.

She growled (in that cute way kittens do) and stalked off to his bedroom, snuggling in the warmth of his laundry and pouted.

Clint came to see her hours later. “Tasha, want dinner?” He tried to pick her up, but she scratched him and wriggled back into the pile of clothes, hissing. “Come on, Tasha.”

She turned her back to him and flicked her tail. She ate what he left for her but only when he wasn't in the room, and she ignored his attempts to lure her out.

“I don't know what to do with Natasha,” Clint said one morning at breakfast.

“Maybe she's jealous,” Tony suggested. “You never bring home your dates.”

“I don't thinks she likes her, if she's acting like this. I read somewhere that cats are good judges of people.” Steve pushed his plate aside.

Clint sighed and left, going back to his room, and kneeled in front of the laundry hamper. “Tasha, I'm sorry about the other night,” he said. He wondered how much she actually understood. “I wasn't planning on seeing her again. She was a little clingy.” He reached out to touch Natasha, and she mewed under his touch. “You're the only woman I can deal with right now, and you're not even human.”

Natasha squeaked indignantly and launched herself at his chest, purring and wriggling playfully.

“Thanks for forgiving me.” He carried the kitten to the kitchen and set a treat in front of her.

She licked his finger, then bit at it gently.


	12. Chapter 12

 Natasha wasn't in his bed when he woke up. She didn't come to the kitchen for breakfast, no matter how much he shook the bowl. Sighing, he went to look for her. His apartment at Stark Tower was bigger than his last one, and there were more places she could hide.

After searching for nearly an hour, he found her nestled in his dirty laundry. She sneezed when he lifted the teeshirt she was under and mewed pitifully, backing into a pair of jeans. “Tasha, is everything okay?” He reached a hand out to her and she sniffed it before coughing. He scooped her up and cuddled her close. She shivered. “Shit, Tasha, you're going to need a checkup.”

She sneezed again. If he wasn't so damn worried about her, he might have thought it was cute.

He tucked her into the hood of his jacket and went down the three floors to Bruce's rooms. “Bruce? Can I ask you a favor?”

Bruce poked his head out of his office. “What can I do?” he wiped his hands on his pants.

“I think Natasha's sick. Could you take a look at her?” Clint lifted the kitten out of his hood and passed her to Bruce.

“I'm not a vet, but I'll see what I can do.” He brought her to his office lab and set her on the desk. Natasha hissed at him, but her heart wasn't in it and she coughed again. Bruce took out his rarely used medical kit and put on the stethoscope. “Can you keep her calm? I think she still doesn't like me.”

Clint stroked her fur. “Tasha, he can help you, okay?”

She stayed silent and still, aside from sneezing once, and after a few minutes, Bruce put down his things. “I think she has a respiratory infection. Common among rescued cats.” He petted her head. “You're going to need to take her to a real vet.”

Clint thanked him and tucked Natasha back into the hood before going back to his floor and calling a vet clinic a few blocks away. Apparently Natasha wasn't fond of any sort of hospital because she instantly cowered into him when they walked into the clinic. She tried to scratch the vet, who gave her a similar checkover as Bruce did.

“Has she had her shots?”

Clint shook his head. “I rescued her a few months ago. Never thought to get her shots.”

The vet pulled off the gloves he was wearing. “I'll need to give her all the vaccination shots. It'll help this go away and keep her from getting sick in the future.”

Clint agreed to having it done that day, and when the vet left the room to get everything together, Clint picked her up and held her close. “You're going to be okay in a bit. It might hurt but I promise it'll make you feel better.”

 

When it was all over, she was curled in his hands, sleeping off the medication. A little bandage was wrapped around her back leg. The vet told him to bring her back in a few weeks for a checkup, and then he was sitting on the sofa of the group lounge with her sprawled on one of his legs. He rubbed her stomach and she purred a little before coughing again.

“Is she feeling any better?” Bruce asked, coming into the lounge.

Clint looked up. “She should be soon. She got a bunch of vaccinations.” She had been clinging to him as soon as they got out of the clinic, and had mewed when he left her alone to go to the bathroom. “She'll just be a little out of sorts for a while.”

Natasha sniffed and licked at the denim of his jeans.


	13. Chapter 13

 “Shit.” Clint set the razor on the counter and washed the shaving cream off his face before pressing a wad of toilet paper against the bleeding cut on his chin.

Natasha darted into the bathroom at the sound of his voice and climbed up onto his shoulder. She nudged his hand and mewed.

Clint showed her the blood. “It's okay,” he said, sitting on the toilet seat. “This happens a lot.”

He felt her paws on his face and she licked at the cut, hissing a little. He could see her little cat nose wrinkle, and realized she didn't like the taste of his shaving cream. Clint reached a hand up and stroked a finger down her spine. “Tasha, it's okay. If you don't like it, you can stop.”

But she wriggled and licked at it until it stopped bleeding. Clint set her on his lap and she lapped a handful of water he held for her, shaking her paws when the water dripped on them. She coughed and nestled into his stomach.

“Hey, I gotta finish shaving the rest of my face,” Clint said, wiping his hand on his jeans and picking her up. She watched him finish, and he dabbed a little of the cream on her nose when he was finished. She sneezed and wiped it with her paw, shaking her head. Clint laughed and put her on his shoulder. “I think you deserve a treat, what do you think?”

She meowed and hopped off, running ahead of him to the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

 Natasha poked her nose into every room in the sprawling apartment, mewling when no one came to say hello to her. She found her way to the stairs and hopped down them to the next floor, and did the same thing. Clint was gone on a mission and he'd been gone for a while. She didn't understand why he was gone, but she couldn't find him.

Tony and Steve tried to play with her, and Bruce would put food out for her and clean up after her. But they weren't Clint, so she hid in his laundry. His scent calmed her and she ducked under a pair of boxers. Bruce started putting the food in Clint's room and leaving it there.

Steve came up one day to check around Clint's floor and noticed the full laundry basket. He went to bring it to the laundry room on the first floor, but something hissed and he felt the prick of claws on his arm. Natasha stuck her head out from underneath the clothes and hissed at him again.

“I'll leave you some clothes,” he said gently, setting the basket down. “I just want to do him a favor.” And then her teeth closed around the edge of his hand, and he let go of the basket. “Jeeze, okay, Natasha. I'll leave it all for you.”

She let go and curled up again, watching him leave the room. When he was gone, she jumped out for food, but crawled back amidst the clothes when she was full.

Two weeks later she heard the door shut in the apartment and Clint's footfalls on the hardwoods. Natasha mewed and bolted out the door, jumping onto his leg and climbing up to slip into his pocket.

“Miss me?” Clint asked, removing the kitten from his pocket and holding her. He brushed her rumpled fur back with his hand.

She purred and licked his fingers.

He smiled when he saw the burrow in his clothes and the food bowl beside the basket. “I'm guessing that's where you slept?” Clint dropped his duffel bag on the floor and set Natasha on his pillow. “Remind me to leave my laundry to stink when I'm gone, okay?”


	15. Chapter 15

 It wasn't unusual for Natasha to be hiding from him, especially since she was small enough to fit into many places he wouldn't even consider looking. Her newest hideout, he found, was his bottom drawer. He wasn't sure how she managed to get in there, but he had seen it was open a crack and then her head peeked out and she mewed.

Clint crouched. “How'd you manage to get in there?” he asked. “You don't have thumbs.” He wiggled his to show her and she mewed again, climbing out of the drawer and butting her head against his hand. Then she skittered off to the kitchen to nose at her food bowl until he filled it.

Later that evening, he was on the bed, an archery magazine spread before him, when he heard a noise. He peeked over the edge of the bed to see Natasha leap up and catch the edge of the drawer, wiggling until she cracked it open, then climbing up and pushing with her back legs until she could fit inside.

“So that's' how you got in,” he mused, smiling at her. “You're pretty smart, did anyone ever tell you that?”

She mewed and licked her nose, wiggling down below the edge of the drawer before emerging again through the sleeve of a shirt.

“You have to promise not to mess up my clean clothes,” Clint reprimanded gently. He leaned over the edge of the bed, reaching a hand toward her. “If you do, I can't let you into those drawers.”

Natasha blinked at him, then climbed onto the edge of the drawer and leaped at his hand. Clint stretched forward and caught her, and she scampered up his arms to tuck herself under his chin and paw at the collar of his shirt.

He smiled, knowing this was one of her favorite shirts. Perhaps he'd leave it out for her and maybe then she would stop going into his drawers.


	16. Chapter 16

 “Natasha, I bought your favorite treats,” Clint said, coming into the team lounge where she was sprawled out on Steve's lap, enjoying the attention he was giving her. Clint rustled the bag and she ignored him, closing her eyes. Steve ceased stroking her back and she clawed at his jeans until he started again.

Clint dropped the bag on the ground and left, going to his room. Natasha used to come running when he mentioned treats and rub against him until he finally gave her one. Now she'd rather spend time with his teammates than him. He flopped back on his bed and picked up an archery magazine, aimlessly flipping through the pages when he felt something press up against him.

Natasha mewed and tucked herself under his arm, nudging it with her tiny wet nose. She nipped at him insistently and he dropped the magazine on his stomach and played with her tail. She licked his fingers and climbed up onto his chest, curling herself up and purred, looking at him.

“I know you're sorry,” he said, holding her and sitting up against the headboard. “I'm just used to it being you and me.”

She climbed his shirt, hooking her claws into the fabric and nuzzled his chin, still purring.

“You want that treat now, don't you?”

But she let go and curled up against him, closing her eyes, preferring him to the treats.

“Maybe later then,” he said, playing with one of her paws.


	17. Chapter 17

When Clint wandered around his apartment and called for Natasha, she didn't come running the way she usually did. He panicked a little, searching everywhere twice, three times, until two hours later, she returned, slipping through the little cat door Tony had installed (without asking Clint) and mewed for his attention.

She had gotten out and been all over Stark Tower, a little lost, until Steve brought her back to her rightful floor and set her in front of the door. Clint was in the living room area within seconds of hearing her, kneeling down on the floor. Natasha looked at him, mewling, and he gathered her up. “I didn't know where you were,” he said, scratching her head. “I didn't mean to leave you alone, I'm sorry. It won't happen again.”

The kitten nuzzled against his chin and purred a bit before mewing again.

Clint stood. “I put a bowl out for you. Where were you anyway? Did you get lost in the Tower?”

Her ears perked up when he mentioned the bowl and she licked his stubble and tried to wriggle out of his arms.

“Food it is.” He put the bowl on the counter and set her down beside it, petting her while she ate. “I won't leave you alone again. I'll show you around the tower tomorrow okay? You must be tired.”

She was obviously confused, so he continued to stroke her and watch her lap up the food before latching onto him. He went over to the sofa and set her in her corner but she curled against his thigh and fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

 Steve came into the apartment to check on Natasha when he heard a mewling coming from Clint's bedroom. He looked inside and saw Natasha pawing at a pair of jeans that were hanging over the edge and looking so terribly lost that his heart broke. He picked her up but she just hopped out of his hands and went back to the laundry basket, mewing pitifully at it.

“You miss him, huh?” Steve asked, crouching beside her. He pulled out his phone, which Tony had spent hours teaching him how to use, and dialed Clint's number, praying that the man would be able to pick up.

Clint picked up on the third ring. “What's up?”

“Natasha's just about had it,” Steve said, watching the kitten. “She won't leave your laundry alone and I can't get her to stop meowing at it. Is there anything I can do?”

“Well you could try and...” He was cut off from an exclamation by Steve. “Steve?”

“Sorry, she's...well she can hear your voice.”

Natasha had latched onto Steve's clothing and pulled herself up, clamoring over his leg and hopping onto his shoulder. She nosed at the phone and meowed, looking at Steve inquisitively.

“Hi Natasha,” Clint said.

She turned back to the phone and cocked her head, mewing. She let Steve pet her head, tail swishing, as Clint hummed. Steve put the phone on speaker and set it on the floor, and she hopped down after it, curling up beside it and touching it with her paw. She seemed a little confused but Steve attributed that to the fact Clint wasn't actually there.

Clint started singing some country song and Steve was surprised to hear Natasha purr. Halfway through the chorus, the little kitten was fast asleep. Steve told Clint that.

“When she wakes up, tell her I'll be back in a few days, okay? And then I won't be leaving for a while.”

Steve agreed and hung up. He placed Natasha onto Clint's pillow and petted her back before refilling her food bowl and leaving her alone again.


	19. Chapter 19

 As soon as he was stretched out on the sofa, Natasha leapt up to join him, curling herself on his chest and impeding the popcorn bowl he had intended to put there. He reached for the remote instead, leaving the bowl on his lap, and pressed play. A night in meant a cheesy action movie that he would mindlessly watch and it seemed like Natasha was eager to join him.

At the first sound of guns, she tensed up and darted behind the pillow he was resting his head on. It got quiet, and she peeked out again but something exploded and she was back under the pillow. Clint turned the volume down and gathered her in his hands, sitting up and stroking her quivering back.

She mewed at him and he chuckled. “Tasha, it's okay. I promise. Nothing's going to hurt you.”

Natasha pressed against him, huddling under his hand.

He picked her up and held her at eye level. “This is just a movie, okay? There's nothing to be scared of, I promise.” He cuddled her close and turned up the volume again, petting her when she ducked against him. He fed her a piece of popcorn to keep her quiet. “Look, I'm not scared. You don't have to be scared either.”

Natasha eyed the remote where it lay on his leg and nosed at it. She climbed out of his hands and on top of it, sniffing and pressing at the buttons. Clint made to push her away, she was screwing up the TV, but the way she looked at him and the plaintive wail she let out made him stop.

He pointed to the button at the top. “Want to shut it off?” he asked. She pawed at it and he pressed down, turning the TV off. When that happened, she mewed again and burrowed under his shirt.

“No more action movies for you, I guess,” he said, cradling her as he walked to his room. She hopped out of his arms and curled up on the pillow and he lay beside her, reaching over for the book he had started weeks ago and never finished. “I'll read to you if you like.”

Natasha mewed and climbed up onto his chest so she could see the book and he laughed, jiggling her. She dug in with her claws and he stopped. “Okay, we can do this now.”

Natasha purred and stretched her little body, tail flicking his nose and he decided that it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he gave up watching action movies all the time.


	20. Chapter 20

 

Fury's voice echoed over JARVIS's comm system and Clint rolled his eyes. He was calling in the Avengers, and they needed to be suited up within the hour and on their way to the base. He tuned out the noise and slid out of bed, digging his tactical suit out of the closet and putting it on.

He sat on the edge of his bed and slipped on first one boot, then the other. But his foot came in contact with something furry, and then he felt teeth and claws close around his skin. He pulled it out only to see Natasha drop back into the boot, growling (or trying to) before climbing out and mewing.

Clint gritted his teeth and set his foot down on the carpet, not caring if the small beads of blood got on it. “Tasha...”

She nosed at his foot and then licked the place her claws had dug in, mewing again. She rubbed against his ankle and then used the holster straps on his pants to climb up his leg and nestle against him.

“You've taken to sleeping in my shoes now?” he said gently, petting her head.

Natasha purred and nipped at the fabric of his vest, blinking up at him.

“I have to go save the world,” he explained. “I'll be back after that and you can sleep in my boots all you like. I promise I won't step on you again.” He pulled a sock on and then the boot, and set Natasha on the corner of the bed. “When I get back, I promise I'll play with you.”

Natasha hopped off the bed and followed him to the door, mewing when he went to open it. “I'm coming back, Tasha,” he said. “Here, I'll leave the cat door unlocked for you.” He bent and opened it.

Natasha pressed against his leg and mewed again, louder and more pitifully. Clint sighed. He picked her up and set her on his shoulder. “I'll take you to Coulson.”


	21. Chapter 21

 On what they determined as Natasha's first birthday, Tony presented her with a hamster ball. “I figured she could roll around in it or push it around or something,” he said, shrugging.

Clint raised an eyebrow, but set the ball in front of Natasha, who promptly batted at it, scampering as it rolled away and trying to figure out how to stop it. She managed to dislodge the cover and peeked inside. Apparently determining that it was safe to climb inside, she squeezed her body through the hole before backing out of it and purring.

Clint smiled and rolled the ball away from her, watching her dart after it. She wasn't as small as she had been months ago when he found her, but she was still tiny. It was endearing, watching her explore and try to stay out of trouble. Then he looked at his watch and swore, realizing he was set to meet Steve in the gym in ten minutes. He said goodbye to Natasha and changed hurriedly, running down to the gym.

Meanwhile, Natasha decided to take a break from the new toy, finding it not as fun without Clint to share with, and went off in search of treats. (She was now good at opening cabinets as well. At least the ones on the ground).

But she came back to the toy and climbed into it again, pushing it forward and flipping over herself in the process. She squirmed and tried to get out, hissing when she found her body was stuck. She mewled but Clint didn't come to save her. So she mewed louder, keening and wriggling, trying to somehow get out of the plastic ball.

The door opened and she mewled again, and Clint was beside her in an instant, worry on his face and in his voice. “Tasha, don't struggle. It'll be easier if you calm down.” He petted the cat, and she butted against his hand the best she could, mewing.

Clint pushed her head back into the ball and tucked a finger under her front legs and gently eased them out. “Feet first, Tasha,” he said gently as she struggled against him. But then she was in his sweatshirt pocket, shaking and mewing. Clint stepped on the plastic ball and it shattered with a loud crack. He bent over and picked up the pieces, mindful of Natasha in his pocket, and took them down a few floors, leaving them in front of Tony's door.

He tried baiting Natasha out of his pocket with food, but she only stuck her nose out to lick at his fingers and remained firmly rooted inside. Clint sighed and sat back on the sofa, absentmindedly petting her through the fabric as he turned on the baseball game.

Tony's next gift was a soft juggling ball.


	22. Chapter 22

Tony was sharply woken by the sound of cloth tearing and a loud squeak. He pressed a hand to his head and groaned, completely hungover from a night of partying. He rolled onto his stomach and peeked over the edge of the bed.

Natasha was hanging off the curtains, wriggling around, trying to dislodge her claws and tearing the cloth as she moved down. She meowed, then managed to hop down before turning her attentions to chewing on the leather of Tony's jacket.

Tony pressed a button next to his bed that connected him with JARVIS's intercom. “Barton, control your animal,” he called, flipping the finger at the cat as he flopped back on the bed.

As he did so, a blur of orange leapt on to his bed and climbed onto his neck, nudging at his chin. Natasha mewed and scampered the length of his body before coming back and batting at his face with her paws. Tony lifted a hand up and shoved her to the mattress, trying to push her off the bed. Cats landed on all fours when they fell anyway.

She raked her claws across his cheek before scampering away and out the door, mewing as she ran.

“I fucking hate your cat, Barton,” Tony said once more over the comm system.


	23. Chapter 23

Clint came home drunk, a girl on one arm that was equally drunk, and she was getting handsy enough that Clint decided her company would be better than his own hand. As soon as he opened the door, Natasha came running, just as she always did, and she hitched her claws into his pants and started meowing, squirming around and impeding his already lessening agility.

He tried to gently nudge her away but she persisted enough that his date decided to leave, her excuse being that she was allergic to cats. Clint groaned and stripped down to his boxers, flopping back on the bed. Natasha climbed up beside him and crawled onto his chest, mewing, wanting to play.

“Tasha, could you just leave me alone for a few minutes?” he asked, picking the kitten up and moving her to the edge of the mattress.

She hissed and butted her head against his leg.

Clint groaned again and got off the bed, picking her up, and putting her in the living room. He closed his bedroom door before she could follow and he heard her mews through the door as he dropped back on the bed again.

About a minute later, he was disrupted by the door being nudged open and a loud meow, signaling that Natasha had figured out how to open the door. “Tasha!” he yelled, trying to scare the cat. He grabbed a blanket and pulled it up over himself.

But Natasha only climbed up onto the bed and curled in the crook of his shoulder. She licked his chin and mewed, nuzzling against his cheek. She licked him again and Clint realized that she had thought he was in pain. He sighed and tried to focus his mind elsewhere, and he heard a soft purring and saw that the kitten had fallen asleep. He nudged her to the edge of the pillow and got up, grabbing his towel off the floor where it had fallen off the doorknob. If Natasha was going to sleep in his room, he'd go take care of it in the shower.


	24. Chapter 24

Pepper went into Clint's apartment to check on the kitten, and Natasha ended up scampering by her and leaving the floor. Sighing, Pepper followed, knowing just how much mischief the kitten could get up to if she was left alone. She watched Natasha hop up the stairs to the roof then pause at the door, mewing, before looking back at the woman. Pepper smiled and opened the door, following the creature out onto the roof.

Natasha curled up in a shady corner and Pepper sat beside her, absentmindedly stroking the kitten's fur. “He love you, you know,” she said after a while. “Clint, I mean.”

Hearing his name, Natasha climbed into Pepper's lap and purred.

“Tony secretly does too.” Natasha hissed but calmed at the woman's touch. “He doesn't really mind you being around. Although he doesn't like it when you ruin his curtains.”

Natasha yawned and meowed, butting her head against Pepper's hands.

“I think it's a good thing Clint found you. He needed someone, even though he didn't want to admit it. And you're just so damn cute.”

Natasha purred, stretching, then curled up against her hip.

Pepper smiled. “I'm glad I'm not the only girl in the tower,” she said softly, playing with Natasha's tail as she slept.


	25. Chapter 25

One whole wall of Clint's floor was windows. He enjoyed the view, and it made him feel better sometimes. And then there was the balcony, where he would crouch some days and imagine he was waiting to take out some rogue dealer. Natasha followed him out one day, curling up at his feet and peeking over the bars to see what was going on on the ground. She placed her paws on the little bar that ran across the bottom of the railing, and mewed, looking back at Clint.

“Natasha!” He lunged forward and picked her up, holding her close to his chest. “Please, stay away from the edge.” He brought her inside and set her down, closing the balcony doors behind him.

Natasha mewed again and pawed at the glass panes.

“You can't go near there. I don't want you to fall. You could get hurt.” He reached a hand out and she nipped at his finger. “You gotta stay inside.”

He left her in front of the window and filled the food bowl. She came running and attacked the food with gusto, swishing her tail. Clint sighed. He wondered how much got through to her when he talked.

The next morning, he woke up to find Natasha on the window ledge in his room, pressed against the screen and purring. “Tasha, please,” he said, stumbling out of bed. “That's not safe either.”

She mewed indignantly and wriggled out of his hands, hopping back up onto the ledge. Food wasn't going to distract her this time, he realized. He pulled on a shirt and called Tony. “Is there any way you can keep the screens in my bedroom window from falling out?” he asked. “Or make them stronger?”

Tony chuckled. “Natasha's not threatening to jump, is she?”

Clint growled. “Just give me an answer, Stark,” he said. He glanced at the box under the window and pushed it to the side so she couldn't use it to jump off of.

“Give me a few days and your little pet will be safe,” Tony replied, hanging up.

Clint looked at Natasha. “Don't press too hard,” he said, picking her up and holding her so she couldn't escape. “Let's go visit Steve, do you want to go see Steve?” Steve didn't have any windows with easy access for a kitten.

Natasha purred and licked his hand.  

"Steve it is."


	26. Chapter 26

Clint relaxed into the couch with his X-Box controller and a beer. He flipped through the title screens of Call of Duty and settled back for some long hours of fighting the bad guys, this time without physical injury to his person.

After a bit, an insistent mewing began, which he ignored because he was in the middle of killing a group of insurgents. The mewing got louder, and he felt a weight on his foot. He ignored it.

Natasha hooked her claws into the fabric of the sofa and climbed up it, wriggling onto his thigh and sitting there, swishing her tail. Then she wiggled and hopped on top of his controller. Clint knocked her gently off.

Natasha hissed and hopped on again, batting at the buttons and causing Clint to get killed. “Tasha, leave me alone,” he said.

She butted her head against his arm and then sunk her teeth into his hand. “Fuck Tasha!” he exclaimed, dropping the controller to the floor and shaking her off of him. She dragged her claws across his hand as she fell onto the sofa and scampered away, mewing, to lick at her fur.

“I have to have some time to myself,” he called after her, wondering if she could understand anything he was saying.

She hissed back.

 

The next day, Clint woke up to find the edges of his controller had been gnawed on, as well as the toggle stick, and he peeked under the sofa to find Natasha curled under it, sleeping. Fine then. He'd let her ignore him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kitten burritos

Clint had gotten into the habit of leaving his clothes on the floor when he was going to bed. He would pick them up in the morning, but sometimes after a long day, he just wanted to crawl into bed and forget about everything.

When he woke up, he stumbled around, still half asleep, and bent down to pick up his discarded clothes. Mewing caused him to stop, and he saw Natasha rolled up in his shirt, wriggling. She had crawled into the shirt in the middle of the night and gotten the thing wrapped around her so that she became the filling of the burrito. Clint quickly sat on the ground and gathered the bundle into his lap, rubbing her back and trying to calm the kitten down so he could disentangle her.

“How'd you manage this?” he asked when her head finally poked out of one sleeve.

She didn't want to get out of the shirt though, still enjoying curling up in his clothes, and huddled against him, tail swishing in the sleeve.

“Alright,” he smiled, standing and holding the bundle. He went to the kitchen and set her on the floor, then filled her food bowl. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat on the floor beside her. “You gonna come out of that shirt?” he asked. “I'd like to wash it at some point.”

Natasha purred and stuck one paw out, batting at the bowl before sniffing it and taking a few bites. Then she looked up at Clint.

He touched her nose gently, and earned a little scratch. “Alright, alright, I'll leave you to it.” He finished his sandwich and washed out the bowl. By the time he was done, Natasha had finished her food and had left the shirt, choosing instead to mill around his legs.

When Clint bent to pick up his shirt, she ran at him, grabbing onto it with her mouth.

His shirt became her blanket when he wasn't there to cuddle with.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha starts sleeping loads and Clint worries about her.

Every time Clint went to find Natasha, she was always sleeping, curled under the couch or in one of his discarded shirts. She was sleeping a lot more lately, coming out only to stretch, eat, or curl up on his lap while he watched TV or played video games.

He tried to play with her, tempting her with a new toy or a balled up sock, but she was having none of it.

“Tasha, what am I going to do with you?” he wondered aloud as the kitten inspected a new sleeping spot. She only flicked her tail in response. He was starting to get worried.

One morning, he slipped the sleepy and disgruntled kitten into his sweatshirt pocket when he went for a run, and went to the park to stretch on the grass.

Natasha crept out of his pocket and nosed around until she was startled by a butterfly. She swatted at it, jumping to chase it as it fluttered away from her.

Clint followed so as not to lose her. “So you just needed some time out, huh girl?” he said, enjoying the sight of her becoming frustrated with the moving target.

When she became tired, he gathered her up and took her home, intentions to run forgotten, and she mewed happily at him before she fell asleep.


End file.
